Trees Gallery - RHS Harlow Carr

Prunus Shizuka

Fragrant Cloud flowering cherry

A medium sized deciduous tree with bronze-coloured spring foliage that turns mid-green in midsummer and then orange in the autumn. Shizuka translates as "Fragrant Cloud".

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Pyrus nivalis

Snow pear

Native to C and SE Europe from Austria and Hungary to Romania and Greece, also known as yellow pear or alpine pear. New leaves are a silvery-white, fruits are small, globular, yellow-green and are borne on long stalks. They are quite small and sour, but mellow as they stay on the tree into winter.

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Quercus castaneifolia 'Green spire'

Chestnut leaved oak

A vigorous tall tree with a broadly columnar form, compact in habit, with narrow, oval, and shiny toothed leaves similar to the Sweet Chestnut. The variety was raised at Hillier Nurseries in 1948. It produces prickly acorns.

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Quercus dentata

Daimyo oak

Also known as sweet oak or Japanese emperor oak, (daimyo were feudal Japanese lords serving the shogun), the species is native to Japan, Korea and China. Growing to a height of between eight and 15 metres, the daimyo oak has a spherical, half-open crown and a trunk of up to one metre in diameter. Bundles of acorns appear from September to October, whilst in spring it produces gold-coloured male catkins. It can reach 25m in the wild, less in cultivation.

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Quercus palustris

Pin oak

A native of E and C USA. In its natural environment pin oak is a relatively short-lived, fast-growing pioneer or riparian relating to wetlands adjacent to rivers and streams species with a lifespan of approximately 120 years, unlike many oaks which can live several centuries. Medium sized, it might reach 22m. It tends to retain leaves through the winter on juvenile trees, (marcescence). The flowers are monoecious male and female reproductive parts are on the same plant catkins which, being self-incompatible, require the presence of another oak for pollination, from the red oak family (red oak or scarlet oak in its natural range). Interspecies hybridization occurs freely. The acorns require two growing seasons to develop.[Wikipedia]

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Quercus robur

Common oak

There are a number of fine English oaks growing around the gardens, presumably from the days when the area was woodland. The one in the middle here has a giant mistletoe sculpture hanging from its branches (November).

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Quercus robur fastigiata

Cypress oak

A fastigiate having upright growth form of the common oak that makes a tall column, appearing almost like a conifer from a distance. The common name refers to its passing resemblance to the Italian cypress, although the leaves are classic English oak shape, not needles or scales. It grows at a moderate rate, eventually reaching about 20m in height. Large acorns hang on to the branches for most of winter. The form was discovered in a German forest in the 18th century, and is propagated from acorns. [Chew Valley trees]

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Rhododendron x geraldii

Hybrid rhododendron

Rhododendrons are native to China, but there are thousands of species, and many hybrids and cultivars. This one is named after Gerald Loder of Wakehurst Place, who exhibited it in 1920. It is generally considered to be a natural hybrid of R. sutchuenense x R. praevernum. The flowers are rose with a deep purple blotch, and are unscented. It will grow into a large umbrella shaped shrub, with long narrow dark leaves. It flowers from January to April.

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Rhododendron ririei

Hybrid rhododendron

This species is named after Rev B. Ririe of the Chinese Inland Missions, a friend of plant hunter E.H. Wilson who discovered it on Mount Omei, W. Sichuan, where it occurs in high open places or woodland. An evergreen shrub up to 8m high. Flowers are borne in February or March in trusses of five to ten; Striking lilac-purple flowers with glistening deep violet nectar pouches. One of the earliest species to flower, lasting well if there is no frost.

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Salix Erythroflexuosa 'Golden Curls'

Twisted willow

A pendulous, small tree or large shrub with bright green, lance shaped leaves. Found in Argentina. The curling and twisted stems are golden-yellow in winter and spring, maturing to bronze-gold in summer. The young vigorous shoots are ideal for flower arrangements. [Frank Matthews]

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Salix 'The Hague'

Willow 'The Hague'

A hybrid between S. × erdingeri and S. gracilistyla, cultivated by a Dutch nursery in the 1930s. Salix are deciduous shrubs and trees of diverse habit, with simple leaves and tiny flowers in catkins, male and female usually on separate plants. Some are valued for brightly coloured winter shoots, others for foliage or showy male catkins, as with 'The Hague' cultivar. [RHS]

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Sequoiadendron giganteum

Giant redwood

The largest tree on the planet in its native area of Nevada, growing to 85m tall and 8m diameter trunks. An endangered species in the wild, though planted widely in parks and gardens.

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